Technical Field
The present invention relates to a battery terminal attached to a battery and relaying power supplied from the battery, a fuse unit, and a method for manufacturing the fuse unit.
Related Art
Conventionally, power supply in a vehicle from a battery to a circuit is often performed via a battery terminal (e.g., refer to JP 2011-187301 A).
FIG. 14 illustrates a fuse unit including an example of a conventional battery terminal. A fuse unit 5 illustrated in FIG. 14 is directly attached to a rod-like electrode 62 projecting from a terminal attaching surface 61 in a battery 6 and includes a battery terminal 51 and a fusible link 52. FIG. 15 illustrates an exploded view of the fuse unit illustrated in FIG. 14.
The battery terminal 51 is a terminal formed approximately in a rectangular shape in a planar view and is provided on a first end side in a longitudinal direction thereof with an electrode insertion hole 511 in which the rod-like electrode 62 of the battery 6 is to be inserted. A second end side in the longitudinal direction thereof is provided with a screw 512 adapted to couple the battery terminal 51 with the fusible link 52. The battery terminal 51 is formed to extend toward an outer edge 61a of the terminal attaching surface 61 at the time of being connected to the rod-like electrode 62 of the battery 6.
The fusible link 52 includes a power feeding terminal 521, two circuit terminals 522, and fusible bodies 523.
The power feeding terminal 521 is connected to the battery terminal 51 and is supplied with power via the battery terminal 51. This power feeding terminal 521 is provided with an insertion hole 521a in which the screw 512 of the battery terminal 51 is to be inserted. A nut 513 is tightened on the screw 512 that has been inserted in this insertion hole 521a to cause the battery terminal 51 to be connected to the power feeding terminal 521.
To the two circuit terminals 522, circuits operated by power from the battery 6 are connected, respectively. Each of the circuit terminals 522 is provided with a screw 522a to which a round terminal or the like of an electric wire of the circuit is to be connected.
The fusible bodies 523 are formed to connect the power feeding terminal 521 to the two respective circuit terminals 522 in strip shapes each of which is narrower than the power feeding terminal 521 and the circuit terminals 522. In each of the circuit terminals 522, power from the battery 6 flows from the power feeding terminal 521 via the fusible body 523. When a current having a threshold value or higher flows, the fusible body 523 fuses to prevent overcurrent from flowing in the circuit.
Also, the fusible link 52 is formed with the power feeding terminal 521, the two circuit terminals 522, and the fusible bodies 523 made of a conductive metal covered with and fixed by (molded with) an insulating resin material. A resin housing 524 made of the insulating resin material covers and fixes respective parts of the power feeding terminal 521, the circuit terminals 522, and the fusible bodies 523 in a state in which respective connecting surfaces of the power feeding terminal 521 and the circuit terminals 522 are exposed, and in which windows 524a are provided to enable fusing of the fusible bodies 523 to be visually recognized. Each window 524a for visually recognizing fusing is covered with a transparent cover 525, and fusing of the fusible body 523 can be visually recognized through this transparent cover 525.
Here, in the above battery terminal 51, an area around a part with which another part such as the fusible link 52 is coupled easily receives load resulting from a part weight and the like. Depending on the degree of the load, the battery terminal 51 may require higher strength.
Also, in recent years, with the advancement of space saving of a vehicle, a spatial margin around a battery mounted therein is being reduced. On the other hand, in the fuse unit 5 illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the length from the electrode insertion hole 511 in which the rod-like electrode 62 is to be inserted to the circuit terminals 522 tends to be long. Accordingly, depending on the position of the rod-like electrode 62 in the battery 6, the fuse unit 5 may protrude significantly to the periphery of the battery 6, which can make it difficult to attach the fuse unit 5 to the battery 6.
The present invention takes the above problems into consideration, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery terminal with heightened strength. Another object of the present invention is to provide a fuse unit enabling protrusion when attached to a battery to be restricted and a method for manufacturing such a fuse unit.